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Emily Bright, a critical liaison between MI5 and MI6, knows how important the work is—even as it gets more serious than ever. Bright notes a Nazi sleeper agent, someone MI5 has missed, raising questions about information from Operation Torch. To this end, Bright emphasizes that Churchill must be told. It is bigger than one missed agent. Conor Thorn, an OSS agent, and Bright stayed out of the hands of the Nazis during their last mission to France. This time, the setting is Paris, a city dotted with Germans, and all the while Thorn is haunted by ghosts from a past trial.
The author's Conor Thorn series includes The Torch Betrayal, The Ultra Betrayal, The Unquiet Genius, and Trust No One—books with short, snappy titles that are reminiscent of those by fellow thriller writer Robert Ludlum. The author himeself is a former commercial television executive with more than thirty-five years in the industry. He has worked in cities such as Salt Lake City, Dallas, Denver, and Washington, D.C. He retired to Utah in 2013 to become a full-time writer. No stranger to the thriller book world, Dyer is an associate member of International Thriller Writers, The Authors Guild, and The Office of Strategic Services Society.
Some connections among The Office of Strategic Services Society, Conor Thorn, and the author's novel stand out. For instance, The Office of Strategic Services Society is intended to honor historic achievements by the more well-known Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II, which is recognized as America's first organized effort to create a centralized system for strategic intelligence. The OSS was the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Special Operations Command, and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Just as a thriller novel like this one glimpses another world, The Office of Strategic Services Society's purpose is to educate the American public about the importance of strategic intelligence and special operations for preserving freedom.
In fact, how strategic intelligence supports freedom is one of the themes running through this novel's multiple-character storylines. Throughout, the novel asks how best to protect the people a person loves. An even darker theme is what to do when one can't be there to protect them. Shifting points of view from one chapter to the next lets readers experience the inner lives of several characters, including Bright and Thorn. These perspectives not only allow a reader to step into that character's shoes and get to know their contacts, but they also shine a light on the relationships between characters and how they perceive each other and the situation.
What's most enjoyable about this Conor Thorn story is the fast-paced thriller writing style. From the very beginning, characters reveal pieces of the story as it takes shape. The mysteries are not instantly obvious. It takes time to put the pieces together and understand the arcs fitting into place. Like a thriller movie, the chapters open with the year, day, and place—for example, "Thursday, March 4, 1943. MI5 Headquarters, No. 58 St. James Street, London"— offering an immediate immersion into the context of the scene. The characters are sharp and intelligent, and the measured, deliberate, compelling dialogue matches them. Fans of thrillers set in World War II might find this novel is exactly what they have been looking for.